Follow This Blog

Jurassic World

I remember seeing Jurassic Park when I was 12 years old. It was an amazing experience and I was so floored by the spectacle and huge-ness of it all. It’s something that I will never forget. I saw Jurassic World this weekend, and apparently, I was not the only one. I again found myself in awe. The scale of it all scale of it all! I did see it on the biggest movie screen in the country, so there’s that, but in terms of watching dinosaurs and the human protagonists running for their lives it still was HUGE. As we were exiting the lot of the drive-in the projectionist was showing a reel of old movie trailers on the screen. I will share one with you. Behold the Valley of Gwangi (1969)!

By our standards, it looks pretty ridiculous. However, in 1969 it was probably awesome. There’s a certain amount of awe that I feel even in watching that trailer. It’s about craftsmanship and the fact that in 1969 that probably felt HUGE.

Anyway, I digress.

In navigating the internet, there is a saying: “Never read the comments.” Now, this is because the comments are where the trolls lurk. They wait for anyone to wander forth and read their absurd opinions, and to engage them. In this case, I was curious as to the general audience’s feelings on Jurassic World. I was surprised to see that there was so much harsh criticism. Words like “horrible piece of crap” were being thrown around. Yes, everyone has an opinion, but I had to question whether I was simply under the spell of the “huge-ness”, and failed to recognize a crappy film. I’m a huge fan of film making from screenwriting to directing, and onto editing. However, there are times when I just want to sit back, eat some popcorn, and enjoy the magic of it all.

In our hyper-informative day and age, are we too difficult to entertain? I remember seeing Interstellar, which despite being really long, was a a great film. As I was leaving the theatre someone was questioning the validity of the crop choices made by the characters in the film. I think we often forget that, unless otherwise indicated, we are watching works of fiction. These worlds are created and crafted by the writers, directors, and producers. They make the rules, they create the stakes, and they choose the crops. Have we lost our sense of wonder? Can we not enjoy fantastic things? Have we forgotten what it was like when we were small and gazing up at that HUGE screen? I mean, yes the crops matter to that specific person, and that’s cool.

All I’m saying is I think it’s important, unless you’re a film critique, to just let yourself be taken for a ride. Let’s suspend some disbelief. Who cares about the crops? You just watched a group of space travelers jump galaxies through a black hole. That’s tremendous! You just watched a character outrun a T-Rex in high heels! That’s pretty amazing and VERY unlikely. But, it’s okay! It’s cinema. It’s huge and it’s awesome. Just a thought. Please share your in the comments.